music, food, lifestyle, film – California

Tag: Julia Michaels

This one has been a long time coming. Justin Tranter deserves a profile as much as any of the pop stars I’ve written cover stories on for Billboard: Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, Fifth Harmony, Cardi B, Nick Jonas… in part because he’s cowritten hit songs for all of them, and also (mostly) because he is an incredible human and indefatigable activist who’s fought against some long odds to succeed on multiple fronts in a very massive way. You can read all about his exploits in this Playboy profile, but Tranter has been popping up in my work for years. I wrote a piece on his old band Semi Precious Weapons for SPIN in 2010, and have consulted him as a secondary on so many pieces since. He’s been a huge part of making pop palatable again, and is helping shape the future for LGBTQ acceptance in America. Plus, he’s building schools. Enjoy.

Want a true testament to the delightfulness of my subject this time around? Here’s the list of folks who went on the record to say nice things about Zedd: Kesha, Jared Leto, Liam Payne of One Direction, Hailee Steinfeld, Dillon Francis, Interscope CEO John Janick, songwriter/artist Julia Michaels, and DJ-producer Porter Robinson. As for the story, this one takes me into the Hollywood Hills home of the dance/pop genius not only for poker night (excerpted: his brother took me for $40), but for a hang sesh in which he plays piano, reveals his plans for Jeff Buckley’s legacy, and shows off a $13,000 side table that fills his living room with rainbows on sunny days. Also, as the headline suggests, there are the myriad ways in which he is not a basic bro.